CARY, N.C. – North Carolina FC announced on Friday it had signed NCFC Youth product Finn Sundstrom to his first first professional contract. The deal runs through the 2027 USL Championship season with a club-option for the 2028 season. The transaction is pending league and federation approval. 

Sundstrom previously competed this season for NCFC as a USL Academy signing, emerging as one of the top young talents in the USL Championship. The 18-year-old center back leads all NCFC defenders in minutes, logging 1,562 minutes of action in the regular season, and has won 19 tackles, 67 duels, and 24 aerial duels, while making 13 interceptions and 65 clearances.

The young defender has also been efficient in his defensive work, winning 76 percent of his tackles and 61.5 percent of his duels. On the ball, Sundstrom has completed 80.5 percent of his passes.  

“It’s been a dream come true to play for the club I grew up with,” said Sundstrom. “Watching them play when I was 11 years old and playing in the academy to now getting to play on that field and sign a professional contract is amazing.”

Sundstrom rose through the NCFC Academy as an attacking-minded midfielder, but made the transition to center back out of necessity during NCFC’s preseason and has become a reliable presence on the outside of NCFC Head Coach and Sporting Director John Bradford’s three-back system.

Sundstrom started with NCFC Academy when he was 11 years old, rising through the ranks from the U-12 team up to the U-19s. 

The defender was part of NCFC’s 2024 and 2025 USL Championship academy contract signing classes and made his professional debut with NCFC during the 2024 season, subbing into the team’s 5-0 win over the Oakland Roots in September. While he played limited minutes during his first season with the team, Sundstrom quickly became a regular starter in 2025.